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Charleston, IL Underground Music Scene
Charleston Illinois Underground Music Scene The purpose of this Wiki is to both provide useful information about bands and music venues (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_venue) corresponding to local underground music performing in the town of Charleston, Illinois, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston,_Illinois) and to give non-visitors an inside look at a unique entertainment experience which is generally only found in small college towns. All of the bands which are listed are either based in Charleston, or frequently play the Charleston underground music (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_music) scene. All of the venues listed are located within the Charleston city limits. The template construction of this page may be used freely to create similar pages for music scenes in other college towns. Contents 1 Bands 1.1 Mugwump Specific 1.2 Growing Oldish 1.3 Little Boy Junior 1.4 Mitch Davis 1.5 Howard 1.6 Safe Haven 1.7 Relic 1.8 Funk Biscuit 1.9 Deliver the Fallen 1.10 Staff Blues Band 1.11 Tommy Gun Geisha 1.12 Spread 1.13 Spoony Love 2 Venues 2.1 Mac’s Uptowner 2.2 The Panther Paw 2.3 Marty’s 2.4 Ike’s 2.5 Kahuna’s Bar and Grill 2.6 Friends and Co. 2.7 Mother’s 2.8 The Penalty Box 2.9 Stu’s 2.10 Top of the Roc 3 The Atmosphere 1 The Bands College towns (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_towns) are some of the world’s finest culture centers. Though many of these towns provide a large selection of hands-on activities in varying fields of interest, perhaps the most overlooked and underappreciated are the underground musical groups which perform globally by the tens of thousands in small college bars and coffee shops. These artists, both young and old alike, represent the future of innovation and creativity in popular music. Everything from jazz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz), hard rock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_rock), and blues (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues), to heavy metal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music), pop (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music), alternative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_rock), and country (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_music) are represented in these groups, and the personal backgrounds of the musicians themselves are just as diverse. Listed below are some of these groups which can be found in Charleston’s underground music scene: 1.1 Mugwump Specific *Members Joe Garrison – Lead Vocals/Guitar Ian Holk – Guitar Joe Maestro – Bass Bob Zordani – Harp *Genre: Dirty Blues (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues) Rock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music) *Website: http://www.myspace.com/mugwumpspecific 1.2 Growing Oldish *Members Daniel LeMay – Lead Vocals/Guitar Alex Ruwe – Lead Vocals/Piano/Guitar Darrell Hayes – Bass Guitar John Scrivner – Drums *Genre: Cover Songs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cover_band) Multiple Genres *Website: ? 1.3 Little Boy Junior *Members: Names unknown *Genre: Garage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_rock) Rock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music) *Website: http://www.myspace.com/littleboyjrmusic 1.4 Mitch Davis *Members Mitch Davis – Production *Genre: Electronic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_music) Trance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trance_music) *Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/mitchbitch 1.5 Howard *Members Dylan Cain – Lead Vocals/Guitar Bryan Rolfsen – Vocals/Guitar Sam Fischer – Bass Guitar Jeff Racic – Drums *Genre: Indie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_music) *Website: http://www.myspace.com/experiencehoward 1.6 Safe Haven *Members Patrick Lyons – Guitar/Vocals Nicholas Stankus – Bass/Vocals Tony Tabor: Drums/Percussion/Vocals *Genre: Indie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_music) *Website: http://myspace.com/safehaven2886 1.7 Relic *Members Anthony Porreca – Guitar/Vocals Tim Crane – Bass Guitar Justin Sharkey – Drums *Genre: Rock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music) Blues (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues) *Website: http://www.myspace.com/experiencerelic 1.8 Funk Biscuit *Members Michael Pond-Jones – Sousaphone Andy Baldwin – Rhythm Jake Schlich – Rhythm Eric Fitts – Guitar Aaron Eckert – Trombone Evan Fowler – Trumpet Mark Rheaume – Vocals/Trombone *Genre: Funk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_music) Rock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music) *Website: http://myspace.com/funkbiscuitband 1.9 Deliver the Fallen *Members Justin Hutchens-Vocals Brandon Parke-Guitar Rob Burch-Guitar/Vocals Nick Dundee-Bass Gus Burch-Drums *Genre: Hardcore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_(music) Metal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_music) *Website: http://www.myspace.com/deliverthefallen 1.10 The Staff Blues Band *Members Sean Walker Mike Block Chris Hastings Dan Hoffmann Jamie Mauck Blake Ozier Efrem Tutwiler *Genre: Blues (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues) Funk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funk_music) Rock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music) *Website: http://www.myspace.com/thestaffbluesband 1.11 Tommy Gun Geisha *Members Kevin Casey Phil riley Brandon Sorensen Adam Hall Sam Bixby *Genre: Rock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music) *Website: http://www.myspace.com/tommygungeisha 1.12 Spread *Members Patrick Reynolds – Drums Dave Petrizzo – Guitar Steven Kaufman – Keyboards Colin Finn – Bass *Genre: Jam( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam_(music)) Rock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_music) Psychedelic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_music) *Website: http://www.myspace.com/spread618 1.13 Spoony Love *Members-Producer Logan Walters *Genre Electronic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_music) *Website(s) Youtube ( under "Forky Hate")- http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6b-1_tYS745pymi3_0HiYQ/videos Website - http://www.reverbnation.com/spoonylove 2 The Venues In order for these musical acts to prosper, there needs to be a place for them to play. For most small college towns, local bars, or Dive bars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dive_bar) are the usual source for the large majority of musical entertainment. Though the name is less than flattering, these local establishments offer the same cultural diversity as the rest of the underground music scene. Some bars are themed, such as sports bars, while others are more informal and geared toward other activities, such as hosting musical acts. The following bars are in or around the Charleston, IL, area. Most of the groups listed in Section 1 play at these bars with some frequency. 2. 1 Mac’s Uptowner *Style: Dive Bar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dive_bar), Drink Specials every night. Typically a friendly crowd of people, with jam bands nearly every weekend. *Address: 623 Monroe Street, Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 345 - 4622 *Website: http://www.myspace.com/uptowner69 2.2 The Panther Paw *Style: Sports Bar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_bar#Entertainment); numerous big screens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large-screen_television_technology) playing sports events any time they are on. Easily one of the most popular bars in Charleston, though as a musical venue it lacks in accessibility due to its small stage and limited P.A. capabilities. Drinks and food are available at modest prices. *Address: 1412 4th. St., Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 345-7849 *Website: http://www.pantherpawbar.com 2.3 Marty’s *Style: Popular bar amongst those participating in Greek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternities_and_sororities) activities on EIU’s campus. Reasonable pricing combined with an always happening night life on Wednesdays and weekends makes this a prime location for music. Unfortunately, it rarely presents any musical acts. *Address: 1666 4th St., Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 345-2171 *Website: N/A 2.4 Ike’s *Style: Another popular location for Greek life, this narrow bar is also rarely home to any musical acts, due to limitations in its interior size. *Address: 409 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 345-4977 *Website: N/A 2.5 Kahuna’s Bar and Grill *Style: This tropical-themed bar has good food and extremely cheap drinks. Right across the street from the Panther Paw, as well as next door to The Penalty Box, this bar is in prime location for musical events, and occasionally hosts famous acts, such as Thomas Ian Nichols (American Pie) (http://www.myspace.com/thomasiannicholas). *Address: 1415 4th St., Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 348-8454 *Website: N/A 2.6 Friends and Co. *Style: Operated by the owners of Kahuna’s, this uptown Charleston bar is one of the best venues for live music in town. The drinks are cheap, and many renovations to the bar have been done over the past two years, including the addition of an extremely large stage, complete with lighting and house P.A. system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PA_system). This is a must-see location for anyone interested in the Charleston music scene. *Address: 509 Van Buren Ave., Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 345-2380 *Website: http://www.myspace.com/friendsdungeon 2.7 Mother’s *Style: Mother’s is an uptown bar which is only open a couple of days a week. Thursday is the big day at Mother’s – every supermodel in town comes there to dance to house/electronic/techno on Thursday nights. The drinks are reasonable, as with most Charleston bars, and if you are single, Mother’s on a Thursday is a great place to mingle and dance. Occasionally DJ’s and other live acts play there for both open and closed events. *Address: 506 Monroe Ave., Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 348-7698 *Website: N/A 2.8 The Penalty Box *Style: This bar, formerly known as Mad Hatters’, is under new management this year (2010). They have renovated the bar inside with new flat-screen televisions, tables, and freshly painted walls. This sports bar turns into a music lover’s haven on weekends, as there is almost always a band there on Friday and Saturday nights. If you want to stay close to Lincoln Street (perhaps you live in the dorms and don’t want to walk uptown), then this is the place for you. *Address: 1419 4th. St., Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 345-5135 *Website: N/A 2.9 Stu’s *Style: This is Charleston’s premier dance club/martini bar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_club). One half of the bar is a dance club which is frequented by hundreds every weekend, and the other half is a high-class martini bar, offering drinks for those with a richer ($) taste. Service is excellent, as is atmosphere. Wednesday night offers regular musical performances, and occasionally bigger names from Chicago and St. Louis play there on weekends. *Address: 1405 4th St., Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 348-8387 *Website: N/A 2.10 Top of the Roc *Style: Located just above Roc’s restaurant in uptown Charleston, this bar is frequented by both locals and college students. The bar is not easily accessible for the handicapped, nor is it particularly well set up for live entertainment. That said, last year was a great year for music at the Top of the Roc. *Address: 410 6th St. Charleston, IL., 61920 *Phone: (217) 348-8018 *Website: http://www.rocsblackfront.com/ 3 The Atmosphere At the end of the day the main attraction for any college town, especially in regards to their underground music scenes, is the general atmosphere, or mood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mood_(psychology)) of these entertainment events. Disregarding the occasional individual who has had a few too many alcoholic beverages, the overall mood amongst most in attendance is one of happiness, or at the very least contentment. As per the descriptions above, each venue offers their own unique aspects, many of which will appeal to a wide variety of individuals, again emphasizing the cultural diversity of their locations. The underground music scene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_music) is an experience that any music lover, college student, or graduated alumni (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumni) should consider revisiting after the college experience has ended. In Charleston, these principles are no exception. Whether visiting Marty’s on a Wednesday for ladies’ night, Mother’s on a Thursday for a wild evening of fast-paced dancing, or a Friday afternoon at the Panther Paw for live music and free appetizers to start the weekend, Charleston’s underground music scene and the venues associated with it will certainly provide a large amount of entertainment, varying in cultural influence, for a reasonable price.